Coach Blashill went out on a high note, taking his team to within two games of the Calder cup finals, despite the normal travails of losing top players to injury and recall. His legacy with Grand Rapids includes playing in 9 out of 12 possible playoff rounds in his three years and developing a score of young players to the nHL. Both things should help him in his next role, as he becomes the first Griffins coach to graduate to the parent Detroit Red Wings. Strong performances by Teemu Pulkkinen, Landon Ferraro, Andreas Athanasiou, Alexey Marchenko and Xavier Ouellet gave a preview of the next wave ready for the NHL, while Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi served notice that the next wave has arrived.